Mark Ingram officially became the Saints' all-time rushing leader while wearing the No. 14 jersey, but that doesn't mean it ever really grew on him.
Heading into the 2022 season it appears he'll be wearing the No. 5, swapping with backup quarterback Andy Dalton, who is back in his familiar No. 14. The veteran has worn that number in each of his NFL stops with the Bengals, Cowboys and Bears.
It's a change that Ingram has been teasing for some time, indicating since his return to town midway through last season that the No. 14 never really appealed to him, though it did provide a clean bookend to Alvin Kamara's No. 41.
The No. 5 was worn by linebacker Kwon Alexander during the 2021 season, the first in which the jersey numbering rules were relaxed to allow non-quarterbacks, kickers and punters to wear single-digit numbers.
Still, the changes don't necessarily mean the rest of the jersey numbers are set in stone. Tyrann Mathieu had indicated he was interested in wearing the No. 5, to honor the 5th Ward, but that now appears to be off the table. He had previously worn the No. 32 (3+2=5) for a similar purpose. That's the number he has donned throughout the team's offseason programs so far this year, but it is yet to be made official. That official announcement holds significance, of course, because that will be the trigger for the shipment of the many jerseys purchased by Saints fans that are holding out to make sure it bears the correct numbers. The same is true for Jarvis Landry, who has been wearing the familiar No. 80 throughout camp but, along with Mathieu, is still listed without a number on the team's roster.
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If Mathieu or Landry did still opt to change numbers, their options would be limited. Excluding Nos. 8 and 9 (the long-time numbers of Archie Manning and Drew Brees that will likely never be worn again), the following numbers are available for Mathieu at the start of camp:
- 40
- 43
- 47
Landry could also wear those three numbers if he so chooses, along with:
- 87
Saints veterans are scheduled to report for camp on Tuesday, with the first practice set for the following morning at the team facility in Metairie.
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